Diversity analysis of marigolds - Tagetes (asteraceae)

Characterization of 20 tagetes cultivars was achieved using morphological and anatomical markers. tagetes erecta 'maurel orange' (e4) was the most vigorous compared with other genotypes and produced large flowers with high quality and quantity. an anatomical study of leaf secretory cavities differentiated between the cultivars and revealed that foliar secretory cavities were larger and more abundant in t erecta cultivars than in t patula cultivars. the size of oil glands also differed in each cultivar. from this study it is concluded that t erecta cultivars especially t erecta 'maurel orange' appeared as more promising one to cultivate and more appropriate to be selected as the parental genotype in the hybridization processes for obtaining new varieties and cultivars. it is concluded that different marker systems (morphological,and anatomical) are appropriate to differentiate between the cultivars of tagetes.